Punjab Farmers Hold Protest In Chandigarh, Press Centre To Accept Demands Like MSP Guarantee

The farmers are protesting to press the Centre to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP).?

The protest is being held under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a coalition of various farm unions. The coalition took shape in 2020 when the unions mounted a yearlong agitation against the three farm laws brought in by the Narendra Modi government that it eventually repealed under pressure.

The farmers arrived in Chandigarh in large numbers on Sunday and started the protest. They also said they would submit a memorandum to Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit at the Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh, the joint-capital of Punjab and Haryana.?

Besides the legal guarantee of MSP, the farmers are demanding the withdrawal of cases filed during the previous yearlong agitation, compensation and jobs to one of the family members of those who died during the protest, debt waiver, and pension, according to PTI.

Earlier on Sunday, Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said, "There is a massive presence of farmers here. It reminds me of the farmers' gathering at Delhi's Singhu and Tikri borders during the year-long protest against the now-repealed farm laws."

Like the previous yearlong protest around Delhi, farmers have again occupied roads and set up tents and kitchens. The PTI reported, "The farmers have erected tents, set up a stage in the middle of the road and parked their vehicles, sporting flags of various farmer bodies. Some of the farmers were seen preparing meals on the road."

The farmers came on tractor-trolleys, cars and other vehicles with a cargo of essentials, including ration, bedding, utensils, and cooking gas cylinders, for the three-day protest, according to PTI.